


Courtship

by movingmoonlight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Drabble, M/M, Pre-Relationship, the rating is for literally one swear word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 23:31:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2087202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movingmoonlight/pseuds/movingmoonlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He looked literally divine, like some deity in a sports jersey with the pants rolled up to his knees and the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and with fire-red hair came down to frustrate Kageyama into making his life better and is slowly succeeding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Courtship

Hinata’s features were soft — cheeks squishy as marshmallows, big eyes an usual warm orange shade, hair fluffy and colored exactly the same as the tips of a still fire right before it merges with the surrounding air. His skin is smooth and a bit tanned but still lighter than Kageyama’s, which is weird, considering all the time he spends under the sun. All-in-all, his face looks like it should be on a children’s stuffed toy more than a 15-year-old Japanese boy; a slightly kookier epitome of the nation’s obsession with cute, if you will.

If you add that to his bright, endearing, frustrating, sincere personality, you get a very dangerous combination that Kageyama is rightfully (in his mind, anyway) wary of. He became conscious of these things a little over a month ago, and starting from that fateful August evening he’d felt this thadump-thadump in his chest and this unpleasant itchy feeling inside his belly that he desperately wants to go away.

The August evening in question was of no consequence, really: The moon had been full and abnormally large and the sky clear of most clouds so that you could see the night sky unpolluted by city lights. Coming home from a particularly harsh afternoon of practice and teetering on the edge of exhaustion, Hinata and Kageyama walked quietly side-by-side for a while.

Quiet is a very awkward state when Hinata and Kageyama are concerned. If Hinata and Kageyama were a ball, quiet is at the top of a hill, and good-natured bickering is at the bottom. You could, theoretically, place the ball at the top of a hill and make it stay there, but the slightest push will send it rolling cheerfully downward.

Science-y people and Takeda-sensei would call it an exothermic reaction. Everyone else would call it a pain in the ass.

In a fit of competitive spirit that characterizes much of their relationship, Hinata, grinning, sprinted ahead of Kageyama, and Kageyama, shouting, followed. A normal person would have collapsed within seconds along their steep uphill path, but Hinata and Kageyama were not, by any means, normal and powered through by screaming at the top of their lungs all the way. At least the locals grew used to them. One frail old lady even offered a pot of ramen as they ran by.

They finished, resting against a metal handrail bordering an artificial riverbank with Hinata leaning over the water and Kageyama bent over his knees wondering whether he should pull him back or push him in.

"I win this time!" said Hinata.

"You cheated, dumbass!"

"Did not.

"Did too!"

"Oh wow, look at the moon."

Cheap trick. Hinata used it once on him to steal his barbeque. Kageyama bent up, annoyed. “I’m not falling for that agai-“

A cold breeze blew as he looked up. The moon was, indeed, big and bright and beautiful, but Hinata’s hair swaying gently as the moonlight shone on his face like a halo looked to him bigger and brighter and more beautiful. His smile was lax and peaceful, his eyes closed. He looked literally divine, like some deity in a sports jersey with the pants rolled up to his knees and the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and with fire-red hair came down to frustrate Kageyama into making his life better and is slowly succeeding.

Kageyama’s heart started beating hard against his chest. The feeling is somehow both pleasant and unpleasant, satisfying and mortifying at the same time. He’s not completely sure he knows what this is and whether or not he likes it. Maybe he’s gotten an allergy. In any case, he couldn't escape it, and he simply let himself fall.

He let himself fall into the sensation for a while, let himself watch Hinata tilt his head up as the breeze cooled the sweat on his neck.

Falling slowly.

Slowly.

"Enjoying the view?" Hinata said, smiling.

"A-absolutely not, dumbass."

"Whatever you say, Kageyama."

It’s not like Hinata to be cryptic. Usually he’s too simpleminded to circumvent and says exactly what is going on in his head, and even if he doesn’t, Kageyama still knows what he’s thinking. That’s largely one of the reasons why they work so well together, and is also why Kageyama was jarred into silence for a few moments before deciding to just let it go this time.

Though it’s not so much as cryptic as it is pretty blatant flirting, but Kageyama is Kageyama, and though Hinata is the one who bears his heart naked and defenseless to everyone, he can’t help but tread a little more carefully here.

After all, even before he encountered volleyball, this is what he was good at: loving people.

So he waits, tiptoes around and leaves encouraging post-its for Kageyama to find. Metaphorically speaking, of course, because otherwise it would just be creepy. Maybe he’s waiting for nothing, maybe not, but that’s no different from everything else in the world, isn’t it?

"Hey," Kageyama said, subdued. He couldn’t find it in him to summon his annoyance. "It’s getting late. Let’s go home."

Hinata sprang down the railing and gave him a two-fingered salute. “Aye-aye, captain!”

They have plenty of time to drown their sorrows in milk and cereal later, but right now, they’re content with watching their shadows dance with the rhythm of their footsteps.

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes and perceived horrible writing entirely my fault. Constructive criticism greatly appreciated!


End file.
